Friday, June 03, 2016

Let Us Break Bread Together: The Music and Celebration of the Lord’s Supper Part 6


By Robin G. Jordan

The selection of hymn tunes in the Gulbransen Digital Hymnal DH-100 CP’s Master Index also makes possible the use of a number of additional hymns not in the Master Index. The following hymns have been chosen for their usefulness not only in a celebration of Holy Communion but also in a service of Morning Prayer. They are for large part metrical versions of the Prayer Book canticles. They range in style.

I have included several metrical versions of the Laudate Dominum—Psalm 148. Psalm 148 is one of the laudate psalms customarily sung at the conclusion of the psalmody in a service of Morning Prayer. Psalm 148 may be sung as an alternative canticle after the Old Testament Lesson in a service of Morning Prayer in the 1926 and 2004 Irish Prayer Books and the 1956 Free Church of England Prayer Book. The Benedicite is an expanded version of Psalm 148.

All created things, bless the Lord KUM BA YAH, DESMOND

Bishop Edward F. Darling, the general editor of the Church of Ireland’s Church Hymnal – Fifth Edition, wrote this metrical version of the Benedicite
.
A shortened version of “All created things, bless the Lord” (Stanzas 1, 5, and 6) may be sung as an introit hymn or a sequence hymn and the longer version as an offertory hymn at a celebration of Holy Communion.”All created things, bless the Lord,” in the shortened version or the longer version, may be sung in place of the Benedicite in a service of Morning Prayer. Attention should be given to the tempo of the hymn. It should not be sung too slowly. The digital hymnal player’s tempo setting for the hymn tune may require adjusting to find the best tempo for singing the hymn.

“All created things, bless the Lord” is set to KUM BA YAH, an African American spiritual tune, in Church Hymnal - Fifth Edition. “All created things, bless the Lord” is one of a number of hymns set to this tune. Among these hymns are “As your family, Lord, meet us here,” “Father God in heaven,” a paraphrase of the Lord’s Prayer, and “Praise the Lord our God.” “All created things, bless the Lord” may also be sung to DESMOND, an African American spiritual tune. Both tunes are in the Gulbransen Digital Hymnal DH-100 CP’s Master Index.

All you works of God bless the Lord LINSTEAD

Stephen P. Starke’s lively metrical setting of the Benedicite, “All you works of God bless the Lord!” may be used as an introit hymn or as an offertory hymn. It might also be used elsewhere in a celebration of Holy Communion. YouTube has a video of the choir and orchestra of First Baptist Church of Asheville, North Carolina performing a choral and instrumental arrangement of the hymn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvaEZIq30Y8.

LINSTEAD is based on a Jamaican folk melody LINSTEAD MARKET.

Be joyful in the Lord LEONI

This hymn is a metrical version of Psalm 100.  The hymn is only two stanzas in length. If it is used as an introit hymn at a celebration of Holy Communion, it should be begun after the ministers are well into the sanctuary of the church or after they have taken their place, having entered during the prelude. It may also be substituted for the Jubilate Deo in a service of Morning Prayer.
LEONI is also known as YIGDAL.

Bless Now Your Fathers’ God CHRISTCHURCH (Steggal) CROFT’S 136TH, DARWALL/DARWALL’S 148TH, GOPSAL, LAUS DEO, RHOSYMEDRE, ST. JOHN (Parish)

This hymn is a metrical version of the Benedictus es, Domine. The tune to which it is set in Sing Together: Bible Songs and Canticles is CHRISTCHURCH (Steggal)MP3 files of the organ and piano accompaniment to CHRISTCHURCH (Steggal) may be downloaded from the SmallChurchMusic.com website.  A MIDI file of the piano accompaniment may also be down loaded from that website. An MIDI file of the melody played on the piano may be downloaded from the hymnary.org website. The other tunes are listed in the Gulbransen Digital Hymnal DH-100 CP’s Master Index.

If it is sung to RHOSYMEDRE, the last line of each verse is repeated.

Bless the Lord, creation sings HARTS (Milgrove), HUMILITY (Goss), MONKLAND, DELIVERANCE, HOLLINGSIDE, ST. GEORGE’S WINDSOR

Bishop Timothy Dudley Smith wrote this metrical version of the Benedicite for Hymns for Today’s Church (enlarged 2nd edition).

“Bless the Lord, creation sings” may be shortened by using stanzas 1, 7, and 8. The shortened version may be sung as an introit hymn, sequence hymn, or post-communion hymn (in place of the Gloria in excelsis) at a celebration of Holy Communion. The longer version may be sung during a solemn procession on Rogation Sunday. The shortened version and the longer version may be used in place of the Benedicite in a service of Morning Prayer.

HUMILITY (Goss) is one of two tunes to which “Bless the Lord, creation sings” is set in Hymns for Today’s Church. HARTS (Milgrove) and MONKLAND is two of three tunes suggested by the hymn’s author. HARTS (Milgrove), HUMILITY (Goss) and MONKLAND are listed in the Gulbransen Digital Hymnal DH-100 CP’s Master Index.

To a 7.7.7.7. D. tune such as DELIVERANCE, HOLLINGSIDE, or ST GEORGE’S WINDSOR, the hymn may be sung as four eight-line stanzas. DELIVERANCE, HOLLINGSIDE, and ST. GEORGE’S WINDSOR are also listed in the Master Index.

Bless the Lord, Our Fathers’ God HEINLEIN, INNOCENTS, MONKLAND

This hymn is a metrical version of the Benedictus es, Domine. While all three tunes are good matches for this text and all three work well as tunes for an introit hymn, HEINLEIN is the best choice of the three.

Come let us sing with joy OLD 124TH/GENEVA 124

“Come let us sing with joy” is a metrical version of the Venite.

This hymn may be sung as an introit hymn or a sequence hymn at a celebration of Holy Communion and in place of the Venite in a service of Morning Hymn. If it is used as an introit hymn, the tempo setting on the digital hymnal player may need adjusting to make sure that the tempo of the hymn tune is not too slow. If the tune is played at too slow a tempo, the hymn will drag and not get the service off to a good start. The piano setting is to be preferred over the organ setting for this hymn. This enables the congregation to better follow the melody line, particular if the tune is unfamiliar and the congregation is in the process of learning it. “Come let us sing with joy” is a hymn that should be begun at least initially after the ministers have entered during the prelude and taken their places.

OLD 124Th or GENEVA 124TH  was written by Louis Borgeois and was first published in the Geneva Psalter (1551) It is one of the best known from the Geneva Psalter and is published in most North American hymnals.

Come, rejoice before your Maker BEACH SPRING, RESTORATION/ARISE, ST. ANDREW, CROSS OF JESUS

This hymn is a metrical version of Psalm 100.

This hymn may be sung as an introit hymn, a sequence hymn, or an offertory hymn at a celebration of Holy Communion or in place of the Jubilate Deo in a service of Morning Prayer.

BEACH SPRING is a beautiful pentatonic melody. It was first published in the shape-note hymnal Sacred Harp, which rivals Southern Harmony in its popularity. It was originally set to Joseph Hart’s “Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy” but is now associated with 41 hymns. It is found in 100 hymnals.

BEACH SPRING is a good match with “Come rejoice before your Maker.” It is a 87.87.D. “Come, rejoice before your Maker” is 87.87. and has four stanzas. The first stanza and second stanza are sung as a single stanza as are the third stanza and fourth stanza.

One hymnal has set BRYN CALFARIA to “Come, rejoice before your Maker.” This requires expansion of the text due to the meter of BRYN CALFARIA.

BEACH SPRING and RESTORATION may be sung as a round or a canon, normally at a distance of one or two measures and a space of one octave.

Come sound his praise abroad SILVER STREET, ST. THOMAS (Williams), RICHMOND (Everett), ST. BRIDE

Isaac Watts wrote this metrical version of the Venite. It was published in Hymns III Church Hymnal Series III, set to CAMBRIDGE, a tune not in the digital hymnal player’s Master Index.

In Southern Harmony this hymn is set to SILVER STREET. In Sacred Harp it is set to ST. THOMAS (Williams). Both tunes may be sung unaccompanied,. A third tune to which the hymn may be sung is RICHMOND (Everett).

ST. BRIDE was listed on the hymnary.org website as an alternative for a tune to which the hymn may be sung but which is not in the Gulbransen Digital Hymnal DH-100 CP’s Master Index. ST. BRIDE may be sung as a round or a canon, normally at a distance of one or two measures and a space of one octave.

Come with all joy to sing to God CANONBURY, ERHALT UNS HERR, OLD HUNDRETH

This is a metrical version of the Venite. Stanzas 5, 6, and 7 may be omitted.

Come worship God who is worthy of honour O QUANTA QUALIA EPIPHANY HYMN (Thrupp)[ MORNING STAR, STAR IN THE EAST]

This hymn is a metrical version of the Venite.

 “Come worship God who is worthy of honor” may be sung as an introit hymn at a celebration of Holy Communion and in place of the Venite in a service of Morning Prayer.

O QUANTA QUALIA comes from Antiphoner, Paris, 1681. It is a fairly accessible tune. It is the tune to which this text is set in Glory to God: The Presbyterian Hymnal, Hymns for Today’s Church (2nd ed.), Psalms for All Seasons: a complete Psalter for worship, and Sing! A New Creation. An alternative tune to which this text is sung is EPIPHANY HYMN (Thrupp), also known as EPIPHANY. It is also a fairly accessible tune.  EPIPHANY HYMN (Thrupp) is not in the Gulbransen Digital Hymnal DH-100 CP’s Master Index. However, a MP3 file of the organ accompaniment of EPIPHANY HYMN may be downloaded from the SmallChurchMusic.com website.

EPIPHANY HYMN is also used as a setting for “Brightest and best of the stars of the morning.” The settings for “Brightest and best of the stars of the morning” listed in the Master Index are MORNING STAR and STAR IN THE EAST.  Both tunes may also be used to sing “Come worship God who is worthy of honour.”

STAR IN THE EAST is a tune from the shape-note hymnal Southern Harmony and may be sung a cappello. If the hymn is sung to STAR IN THE EAST, the ministers should enter during the prelude and take their places before the beginning of the hymn.

Glory, Honour, Endless praises MERTON (Monk), SICILIAN MARINERS

This hymn is a metrical version of Dignus es, A Song to the Lamb from Revelation.

God’s Paschal Lamb Is Sacrificed for Us SINE NOMINE, ENGELBERG

This hymn is a paraphrase of The Easter Anthems. It may be sung as an introit hymn or used elsewhere in a celebration of the Holy Communion. It may be sung in place of The Easter Anthems in a service of Morning Prayer during the Fifty Great Days of Easter.

Let all creation bless the Lord MIT FREUDEN ZART/BOHEMIAN BRETHREN

This hymn is a metrical version of the Benedicite. It is one of the shorter metrical versions of this canticle.

Set to MIT FREUDEN ZART, also known as BOHEMIAN BRETHREN, “Let all creation bless the Lord” may be sung in a number of places in a celebration of Holy Communion and in place of the Benedicite in a service of Morning Prayer. If ”Let all creation bless the Lord” it is sung as an entrance hymn, the ministers should be well into the sanctuary before the start of the hymn.

My Soul Gives Glory to the Lord MELCOMBE, DEUS TUORUM MILITUM, CANONBURY, ST. PATRICK’S BREASTPLATE

To the L.M.D. tune ST. PATRICK’S BREASTPLATE, also known as ST. PATRICK (Irish) and ST. PATRICK ( Stanford), this text may be sung as three eight-line stanzas.

My Soul Proclaims with Wonder VALET WILL ICH DIR GEBEN (ST. THEODULPH), ES FLOG EIN KLEINS WALDVÖGELEIN (WOODBIRD)

Carl P. Daw Jr. specifically wrote the text of this metrical version of the Magnificat for use with the tune VALET WILL ICH DIR GEBEN (ST. THEODULPH), which he notes “should be sung with somewhat more vigor than it often is with its Palm Sunday text.” Daw further notes that “the refrain should always be sung by the congregation, but the verses might well be sung by a cantor or various groups (e.g. women, men, people seated in certain sections).” If the hymn is divided into three stanzas, the refrain, “My soul proclaims with wonder the greatness of the Lord; rejoicing in God’s goodness, my spirit is restored,” is sung as the first line of the first stanza and the last line of the third stanza, the hymn may be sung to the 7.6.7.6.7.6.7.6 hymn tune, ES FLOG EIN KLEINS WALDVÖGELEIN (WOODBIRD). The hymn is set to ES FLOG EIN KLEINS WALDVÖGELEIN (WOODBIRD) in Sing! A New Creation (2001).

Now Lives the Lamb of God CROFT’S 136TH, GOPSAL, RHOSYMEDRE

This hymn is a paraphrase of The Easter Anthems. It may be sung as an introit hymn or used elsewhere in a celebration of the Holy Communion. It may be sung in place of The Easter Anthems in a service of Morning Prayer during the Fifty Great Days of Easter.

If this hymn is sung to RHOSYMEDRE, the last line of the refrain is repeated.

O Come loud anthems let us sing OLD HUNDRETH, DUKE STREET, WINCHESTER NEW, TRURO, HERR JESU CHRIST

This metrical version of the Venite was published in the 1689 edition of Tate and Brady’s New Version. It was the version familiar to the gallery choirs of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. It was published in the hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church, beginning in 1871. The Hymnal, 1940 was the first Episcopal hymnal to omit the hymn.

Tunes to which this hymn may be sung include OLD HUNDRETH, DUKE STREET, WINCHESTER NEW, TRURO, and HERR JESU CHRIST.

TRURO may be sung as a round or a canon, normally at a distance of one or two measures and a space of one octave.

Praise him, praise him, praise him NICAEA

This hymn is a metrical version of Psalm 148.

This hymn may be sung as an introit hymn, a sequence hymn, an offertory hymn, or a post-communion hymn (in place of the Gloria in excelsis) at a celebration of Holy Communion and in place of the Benedicite in a service of Morning Prayer.

The tune to which this hymn is set is ST. HELEN (Cotes), which is not the Gulbransen Digital Hymnal DH-100 CP’s Master Index. NICAEA is the alternative tune for this hymn.

Praise the Lord, our God KUM BA YAH

Richard Bewes who replaced the late John Stott as the rector of All Souls Langham Place, London wrote this metrical version of Psalm 148.

This hymn may be used as an introit hymn, a sequence hymn, or an offertory hymn at a celebration of Holy Communion and in place of the Benedicite in a service of Morning Prayer. Even congregations that know the tune should practice the hymn to accustom them to singing different words to the tune. The hymn should not be sung too slowly. The digital hymnal player’s tempo setting for this tune may require adjustment.  The hymn may also be sung to DESMOND.

We praise You and acknowledge You, O God THAXTED

This beautiful metrical version of the Te Deum laudamus comes from the Lutheran Service Book (2004) of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. It combines a text by Stephen Starke and a tune by Gustav Holst.

 “We praise You and acknowledge You, O God” may be a trifle long to sing as an introit hymn at celebration of Holy Communion. One possibility is to form a vocal ensemble to learn the hymn and sing it at the beginning of a Holy Communion celebration and see how it goes. The hymn certainly may be sung during a solemn procession on Trinity Sunday and other occasions, as an offertory hymn or a post-communion hymn (in place of the Gloria in excelsis) and in place of the Te Deum laudamus in a service of Morning Prayer. YouTube has a video of the students at Christ Lutheran Academy singing “We praise You and acknowledge You, O God” in place of the Te Deum laudamus at the conclusion of Matins on the last day of school: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ieF-dxHGEU In Lutheran Matins the Te Deum laudamus is sung near the end of the service and is followed by the Lesser Litany, the Collect for Grace, and the Benedicamus.

An MP3 file of the organ accompaniment to THAXTED may be downloaded from SmallChurchMusic.com website.

We Praise You, O God, and Acclaim You as Lord CHRISTE SANCTORUM, ISTE CONFESSOR (Poitier)

Carl P. Daw Jr. wrote this metrical version of the Te Deum laudamus with CAELITES PLAUDANT in mind.  He suggests CHRISTE SANCTORUM and RUEN as alternative tunes. Only CHRISTE SANCTORUM is listed in the Gulbransen Digital Hymnal DH-100 CP’s Master Index. The hymn also works with ISTE CONFESSOR, which is listed in the Master Index. The meter is 11.11.11.5
.
With Mary let my soul rejoice ST. STEPHEN [SONG 67, MORNING SONG (Dare), ST. MAGNUS (Clarke)]

David Mowbray wrote this metrical version of the Magnificat. It is listed as one of the New Testament Canticles in the Church of England’s service book Common Worship (2000).

“With Mary let my soul rejoice” may be used as an introit hymn at a celebration of Holy Communion on the Feast of the Annunciation and other occasions or in place of the Magnificat in a service of Evening Prayer. In congregations using the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, it may also be sung as a canticle in a service of Morning Prayer. In the Eastern Church the Magnificat is sung as a morning canticle. This was also the practice in ancient cathedral morning offices in the Western Church. The meter of “With Mary let my soul rejoice” is CM (86.86). The suggested hymn tune is ST. STEPHEN (Jones). Other possible tunes are SONG 67, MORNING SONG (Dare), and ST. MAGNUS (Clarke).

MORNING SONG (Dare) may be sung as a round or a canon, normally at a distance of one or two measures and a space of one octave.

More hymns based on the Prayer Book canticles are listed elsewhere in this paper, in Early in the Morning Our Songs Shall Rise to Thee: The Music and Conduct of Morning Prayer, and Texts of Metrical Versions of the Invitatory Psalms, Canticles, and Anthems.

The metrical versions of the Gloria in excelsis listed in the section, “After the Post-Communion Prayer” and Texts of Metrical Versions of Gloria in Excelsis and Gloria Patri may also be used as introit hymns. If one of these metrical settings of the Gloria is used as an introit hymn, a hymn should be substituted for the Gloria after the Post-Communion Prayer.

Obviously no congregation can sing all the hymns that I have listed. The purpose of the two preceding lists of hymns and the other lists of hymns in this paper and its companion papers is to draw attention to the wealth of congregational hymnody to which the Gulbransen Digital Hymnal DH-100 CP gives access. From this rich store of hymns small church worship planners like the householder of Matthew 13:52 can bring out treasures new and old. They can put together a shorter list of accessible, musically attractive hymns which would be the most useful in the worship of their church.

The Threefold Kyrie. The Threefold Kyrie is preferably sung rather than said. Saying the Kyrie is like reciting a hymn. It can be done but it will not produce the same effects as singing the hymn.

I have ascertained that the Gulbransen Digital Hymnal DH-100 CP has the Merbecke setting of the Threefold Kyrie. The text “Lord have mercy upon us” is listed with the tune KYRIE #2in the digital hymnal player’s Master Index. The tune MERBECKE listed in the Master Index has the same code number as this text and tune. MERBECKE is the name given to the tune of the Merbecke setting of the Threefold Kyrie in The Worshiping Church: A Hymnal, one of the thirteen hymnals listed in the digital hymnal’s Manual. MP3 files of the Merbecke setting of the Threefold Kyrie and the Ninefold Kyrie played on the organ may also be downloaded from the SmallChurchMusic.com website

The digital hymnal also has the Willan setting of the Threefold Kyrie. I found a MIDI and a recording of the Willan Kyrie and it is not difficult. 

The Sixfold Kyrie from Richard Proulx’ Land of Rest Acclamations combines the shorter liturgical formula,”Lord have mercy,” with the longer “Lord have mercy upon us,” the English translation of Kyrie eleison me, or eleison hemas, the form in which Kyrie eleison appears in a number of places in the New Testament. See my notes on “I come with joy to meet my Lord” in the previous section for the text of the Land of Rest Kyrie. It offers a possible alternative setting for the Kyrie. It is very singable and the tune is in the Gulbransen Digital Hymnal DH-100 CP’s Master Index. It also may be sung unaccompanied.

When a small Anglican church does not have a weekly celebration of Holy Communion and the congregation will be singing the Threefold Kyrie setting only once a month, it will be necessary for the congregation to practice it on the preceding Sunday and possibly before the service on the Sunday that they sing the setting. This will be necessary only until the congregation has mastered the setting.

The late Peter Toon encouraged the composing of simple modern settings of the traditional Kyrie, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, and Gloria in Excelsis, recognizing that the older settings are composed for choirs with no thought to congregational participation.. These settings are also not suited to the acoustics of the kinds of buildings in which these congregations worship, having been composed for the more favorable acoustical environment of churches built during the medieval period or the Victorian era. I gather from comments on ChoralNet, music ministers of churches using the 1928 Prayer Book are unable to find Anglican Communion Service settings that enable their congregations to participate in the service music instead of the choir singing the service music for the congregation. On the other hand music ministers of churches that use Rite II in the 1979 Prayer Book have dozens of simple Mass settings from which they can choose. Small church congregations that broke away from the Episcopal Church and use the 1928 Prayer Book are at clear disadvantage in comparison to break away congregations that kept the 1979 Prayer Book or adopted one of the other more recent Anglican service books.

From the perspective of biblicity and theological soundness the 1928 Prayer Book and the 1979 Prayer Book suffer from the same major drawback. A careful analysis of both service books shows that their doctrine and liturgical practices are not entirely consistent with the teaching of the Bible and the doctrine of the historic Anglican formularies.

Rites and services from a number of the more recent Anglican service books are now on the Internet. Among these service books are the Church of England’s Alternative Service Book 1980, the Anglican Church of Canada’s Book of Alternative Services (1985), the Anglican Church in New Zealand’s A New Zealand Prayer Book (1995), the Church of England’s Common Worship (2000), the Diocese of Sydney’s Sunday Services (2000), the Church of Ireland’s The Book of Common Prayer (2004), and the Diocese of Sydney’s Common Prayer: Resources for Gospel-Shaped Gatherings (2012). Small Anglican churches desiring to reach a larger segment of the population have plenty of liturgical resources upon which they can draw.

No comments: